Right-hander Tyler Zombro made his return to the mound last night with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate — the first time he pitched in a regular-season game since last season’s horrifying injury. Zombro, struck in the head by a 104 mph comeback liner early last June, underwent emergency brain surgery and had his skull stabilized with 16 plates and 36 screws, as detailed by MLB.com’s Adam Berry. That Zombro fully recovered is a triumph in and of itself, but returning to the mound in less than a year’s time seems nearly impossible to fathom. Last night’s return came on the road against the Norfolk Tides (the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate), and in a particularly classy scene, the entire Tides dugout emptied to laud Zombro with a standing ovation as he took the mound (video link). Zombro’s teammates and many of the fans in attendance followed suit. “That’s been one of the moments that certainly hit me the hardest,” Zombro tells Berry. “…I think it all came kind of full circle there and definitely was a symbol of me ‘completing the journey’ to be back to performing in Triple-A.”
More on the Rays…
- Lefty Ryan Yarbrough made a rehab outing yesterday in hopes of a quick return to the roster, but he retired just one batter, walked four hitters and threw only 10 of his 27 pitches for strikes. Yarbrough, on the shelf since April 8 due to a groin strain, has yet to pitch in a big league game for Tampa Bay so far in 2022. The 30-year-old southpaw is hoping to bounce back from a career-worst year in 2021, when he logged a 5.11 ERA in a career-high 155 frames. He pitched well this spring (one run in 8 1/3 official frames), but it’s not yet clear when he’ll return to the club. Tampa Bay has been (quite successfully) using setup man J.P. Feyereisen as a an opener with Yarbrough, Luis Patino, Shane Baz, Yonny Chirinos, Tyler Glasnow and Brendan McKay all on the injured list. The team hasn’t made any kind of formal announcement regarding Yarbrough’s status, but given the short nature of that outing and the ugly results, it’d be a bit of a surprise to see him activated without another rehab appearance.
- Major League Baseball nixed the Rays’ convoluted split-city plan with Montreal back in January, and St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch now tells John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times that he believes there’s a path forward for the Rays right at home in St. Petersburg. While Romano notes that a move to Tampa is the team’s preferred option, they’ve been unable to work out the necessary funding to facilitate such a move (hence the outside-the-box Montreal plan). Welch notes that the city of St. Petersburg has hired new financial consultants to explore whether the possibility of a mixed-use development similar to the Braves’ Battery development surrounding Truist Park could be plausible. Major funding from Pinellas County’s tourist tax would still be required, but Welch struck an optimistic tone that the team and the city could eventually figure out a workable plan. Of course, there’s been no shortage of optimism regarding various stadium plans in recent years, and the team has nevertheless continually found itself back at square one after each has fallen through. The Rays’ current lease at Tropicana Field runs through 2027.
That is awesome!!! Someone with a toolbox worth of metal in his head can return to a full healthy life.
Very insightful, thanks for commenting.
Might wanna word that differently, you come out as a pecker.
If the plan is to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg, then just move the team to Montreal. Talk about missing the damn point. The problem is location, not stadium. There is not a single location in Pinellas county that demonstrably improves the team’s situation.
after hearing about a billion people complain about this topic I think you are the first one I’ve seen to say that location within the area is the issue over the stadium itself or simply being in the state at all.
He is not wrong, I live in the area and agree it’s terrible in St. Petersburg. It needs to be in Tampa, with bigger corporate support and closer to Orlando.
The surrounding neighborhood is bad for sure, but getting in and out ain’t the problem. In 2009 & 2010 they were averaging 23K, that’s 50% more attendance than the past several normal seasons. Have there been any changes over the past 12 years that made it harder to get in and out? NO! People here need to stop using location as an excuse, it’s almost as if they are hired by the team to post comments attempting to sway fans in favor of a move.
I just went for a weekend series against the Red Sox and there were popular promotions all three days (hat, bobblehead, socks). yet the place was not packed for any of the games. Do you want to know why?
1) Price of parking has skyrocketed, every lot was $25 minimum.
2) No bags permitted, if you want to eat anything during the game you’ll have to wait in long lines to pay the outrageous prices at the concessions.
3) No cash permitted, there’s guys at the lot entrances just waiting to put their bare fingers all over your card and hundreds of other people’s cards.
4) This is my favorite: YOU CANNOT BUY TICKETS AT THE BOX OFFICE.
All tickets MUST be bought online, which means you MUST pay the ridiculous online fees.
Those are some reasons, along with the constantly changing rosters, why many fans have stopped attending Rays games.
Not the location – plenty of other MLB stadiums are located in lousy areas.
Not the stadium – most fans couldn’t care less about the very infrequent times a ball hits the catwalk, they are just happy to be protected from the elements sitting in a very comfortable and spacious room temperature stadium.
Never forget, in 2009-2010 they drew 1.9 million fans each year in the exact same stadium located in the exact same neighborhood.
Thanks for the info fever pitch. I can see why people don’t go to Rays games. No cash? Ridiculous!
That’s surprising because this has long been known to be the issue. The stadium isn’t great, but it’s not the issue. The population base is in Tampa/Hillsborough County. Getting to Pinellas County for a game, especially a weekday night game in rush hour traffic, is a monumental PITA. If you’re coming from the east or south, which most people are, there’s about four routes to get there and they all suck. There is no location in Pinellas County that improves specifically that situation. Compound the headache of the drive with the fact that the stadium is just kind of meh, and watching on TV becomes a much more enticing option.
I agree but the stadium itself is just as bad or worse than the terrible location. Tampa is the location that’ll work once they figure out where.
It’s not really an either/or, though. The location is terrible, but so is the stadium. The stadium might not be a reason for the locals not showing up, but it’s the worst excuse for a stadium in Major League Baseball, with that ridiculous white canopy that obscures high fly balls and pop-ups, those obstructive catwalks and metal rings, and those giant speakers hung from the ceiling. And as if that weren’t bad enough, there’s the Astroturf, too.
I’ve heard several people say it’s location that’s the biggest problem. The current stadium is far from the bulk of the population.
I live in the area too, and the location is a huge part of the attendance problem. There are only 2 convenient and very congested bridges between Tampa and the Trop in St. Pete.
back in 13 i was in the area for work and had few days off waiting for parts so i went to a rays game and getting to the stadium sucked. like bseventeen said there is only 2 main ways in (least from what i saw) and the interstate was slow going even for a weekend and on top of that looks like the stadium was built in a industrial district with no life before or after a game.
brodie – There’s 4 major roads you can take to get there.
I-275
I-175
I-375
Route 19
Best of all, there’s several different entrance ramps to get onto the highway.
If you think getting to and from The Trop is difficult, don’t even attempt to drive to and from Fenway.
Tell me you’ve never tried to drive to the Trop from Hillsborough County in rush hour traffic with telling me you’ve never had to drive to the Trop from Hillsborough County in rush hour traffic. If I want to get to my seat by 6;45 for a 7 pm start, I have to leave my house no later than 4:30, and that’s pushing it. Put a stadium in Tampa and now I have to leave no later than 6 pm. Now multiply that issue by 85% of the residents in the greater Tampa/St. Pete area and now you understand why putting a stadium on that side of the bay is a mistake. They already have the data on this. The Rays have the fewest people within a 30 minute drive of the ballpark in baseball by leaps and bounds. That’s a problem that is fixed with one solution. Putting the ballpark where the people are.
Save your typing fingers. These idiots don’t want to hear facts.
If the team stays in Pinellas it has to get as close as possible to I75 as possible. Expecting people from any location outside of St Pete to drive down I75 & almost all of I275 is not feasible & that is why the Rays have attendance issues.
Although you are correct on your point, you do realize that Montreal really doesn’t want another team, only some self serving politicians? They aren’t going anywhere else and they’ll figure it out because they’re not leaving a hugh growing market like Tampa Bay.
What you said about Montreal is untrue:
dailyhive.com/montreal/montreal-expos-toronto-blue…
Montreal doesn’t have a fan base. It’s pretty simple.
Facts to the contrary notwithstanding, Tyler?
“In December, The Montreal Group, lead by Stephen Bronfman (the son of former Expos owner, Charles Bronfman) and his partners announced key findings of market studies and consultations for the construction of a new downtown ballpark.
“The study’s conclusion confirmed that Montreal has the market characteristics to support an MLB team effectively over the long term.”
If you want a more detailed analysis, read “Why Major League Baseball Makes More Sense In Montreal Than Tampa Or Miami” in Forbes:
bit.ly/3Kc2AwX
Montreal is a hockey town, obviously.
No baseball team in Montreal can compete with hockey during the months of April thru June.
lol that was a good one fever the canadians are done by march and finish the regular season in april.
Funny you should say that, Fever:
‘On Tuesday night, there was both a National Hockey League game and a Major League Baseball game in Montreal at the same time.
‘It was uplifting to see a cross-sport blend of Expos caps and Canadiens jerseys on public transit before both respective games.
‘Despite the fact that the Habs were playing a big game, toeing the line of the NHL playoffs, 22,502 fans still poured into the Olympic Stadium to watch the Spring Training series finale between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Milwaukee Brewers (And neither of them are our real teams).’
dailyhive.com/montreal/montreal-expos-toronto-blue…
The Canadiens were playing a game with playoff implications and still fans packed a SPRING TRAINING ballgame.
brodie – Not in the days of Patrick Roy, Vincent Damphousse and Kirk Muller.
Fink – Not familiar with supply and demand?
Canada’s baseball team was playing a very, very rare game in Quebec. Of course it would draw somewhat well, based purely on the novelty.
It’s like the London Series between the Sox and Yanks, each game drew over 59K fans.
You think London is a baseball town just because it sold out those two games?
dude that was like 30 years ago and also roy played for the Nordiques which became the av’s. hockey in mtl hasn’t been relevant in 30+ years other than blips, also doesn’t help the habs that they require french speaking coaches, i’m sorry if your trying to win get the best people available and hire a translator for the media, or just be stuck mediocrity because there isn’t a long line of french speaking people with a high hockey iq. also to your comment on getting to a rays game you must of went there on a good day or go there so often that it’s easy for you. as someone that went there for the first time it sucked getting to the game and worse leaving. also i’m going to go with the people that live there and travel the roads daily and if they say it’s a pain to go to a game then it must be.
It was 3 years ago, it was a jays spring training game. Why not check the article before commenting ?
I was just in St Pete. I think you’re right. Better access will help
Massive respect for Tyler Zombro. There was a great article in The Athletic recently detailing his recovery. It’s absolutely awe-inspiring that he was able to return from such a devastating injury.
That’s insane. He’s extremely dedicated.
I know! Gray carpet seems to attract more dirt than blue carpet.
Enough already with the Rays franchise. By the time the latest lease is scheduled to expire in 2027 multiple ownership groups will have had over 30 years to work out a viable and successful long-term plan for keeping the team in the Tampa-St. Pete area. They’ve failed. Major League Baseball does not work in that area and the fans have told us with how they refuse to support the team. Yes, the present location is terrible and all the locals will tell you the multitude of reasons why. The team has had almost 30 years to work it out and they just can’t cut it. The team is more than competitive on the field and it should be embarrassing for the franchise they can’t attract fans to make it work financially. It’s time to move on and give Nashville, Charlotte, Memphis or another city east of the Mississippi River its turn to make this work.
You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.
This sounds awfully similar to the A’s situation. And people still wonder why MLB teams don’t want to or dont have any priority to “relocate”…
memphis wouldn’t work to many life long cards fans live there.
They can’t draw in St. Petersburg’s now, so they want to double down on a losing hand in St. Petersburg?
Welcome the Rays to Nashville or Montreal.
You’re not very smart, are ya?
Tyler Bashko. Good name/good role.
The three teams with the lowest average and total attendance last year were, in descending order, Tampa Bay, Oakland and Miami.
In 2003, when the Florida Marlins won the World Championship, they ranked 28th in attendance.
Maybe there is something to the charge that Florida residents are more interested in other things, like college football or the beach.
Or, perhaps, the teams they rooted for before they moved to Florida (i.e. Yankees, Red Sox, etc.).
Those three teams are also among the six lowest in team salary, so maybe local baseball fans don’t want to support teams that don’t want to spend any of their profits on the product on the field.
Usually teams spend money to contend, no more fans are gonna go if they put out a $120m payroll and finish in the same position they do now
Even when those teams make the playoffs and the World Series, Fred?
The Rays have a top 10 TV audience. Not everything is about the in person attendance. With the prices of games now-a-days, it’s more of a corporate sponsor event than something a middle-class family can afford to do 10+ times a year. The Rays have probably the worst corporate sponsor #’s of any team. Pinellas is a huge retiree and poor area, though that is changing with gentrification. St. Pete prices have soared to crazy levels (think NY or SF – average 1 BR downtown St. Pete is now nearly 3,000$).
Tampa Bay has really been supporting the Lightning in recent years. Panthers also draw when they are good, and that’s hockey.
MLB can definitely survive in Florida, they just need to address some issues.
I knew Sweet Lou was awesome, but they gave him his own county in Florida? Seems reasonable. 🙂
*SARASOTA SEA HORSES
dude please stop already it’s just annoying now and really wasn’t funny the first 15 times either
We here at 48-team MLB will keep you in our thoughts as you try to navigate this difficult time in your life.
Can you imagine if they very first pitch was lined back off his head again??
Why would I want to imagine that?